Pages

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Let's Do This

Someone once old me that if you haven't done something by age 35, the chances of you ever doing it become significantly less. Most mathematicians of history, for example, made their greatest contributions to mathematics before they turned 35.

And while this might seem like a bummer that can box the over-35 crowd in, don't let it. This doesn't mean that you can't do great things after age 35. Most indubitably, you can. It just means that more effort might be needed on your part, than, say, if you did it prior to 35.

And this makes sense. We so easily can get stuck in our ways and fixed in our routines. By then, we've developed a sense of "who we are" and "who we are not," and to blur these puts us out of our comfort zone.

By why should it? Why should we bound ourselves by our own sense of limitations?

I say: be boundless.

A woman in her 70s recently made the news for winning some outrageously amazing physical feat. I forget if it was the Olympics or a marathon, but she WON it -- and amazed everybody.

And you know what? Prior to that year, she never exercised a day in her life. Yes, she admitted that, and all eyebrows at the press conference were raised. This amazing woman must have literally woke up one day and said, "You know what? I might be pushing 71, but I've got a record-breaking athlete just bustin' to get out of me. Let's do this!" And do she did.

This month I turn 34. I'm about to enter a very awesome year, one full of opportunity and (supposedly) rich with an ease for starting new adventures and making new contributions. Yes, I'm ready to put more finger prints on this globe so that the world knows I was here. No longer will I put off for tomorrow those dreams which can be started today.